Motor-control system



Aug. 11, 1925.

H. L. BLOOD MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM Original Filed Oct. 7, 1921 II! II!!! I IN V EN TOR. $615M.

ATTORNEY;

Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,549,438. PATENT OFFICE,

HAROLD L. BLOOD, OF NORTH PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NILES-BEMENT- POND COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HECTOR-CONTROL SYSTEM.

Original application filed October 7, 1921, Serial No. 506,601. Divided and this application filed July 9,

1923. Serial No. 650,418.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD L. BLOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Yorth Plainfield, in the county of Somerset and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in M0- tor-Control Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a motor control system and in particular to a control system for a motor for operating a precision machine tool.

More particularly, the invention is designed for use'in'connection with a gear generatingor other machine in which a plurality of complicated indexing movements are required'betWeen the cutting operations.

An object of the present invention is to provide means comprising a motor so actuated that thepower required for the positioning members for'the work may be materially lessened. Also, it is an object of the invention to use the motor to securely retain the work supporting means in fixed predetermined position during the actual cutting operation, and to aid in moving the work supporting'means in a reverse direction whenever necessary.

Also, it is an object of this invention to I o I n i provide means for operating this motor in an opposite direction and with variable amounts of torque in accordance with a predetermined cycle.

In the continued operation of precision machine tools, particularly where adjustments of parts must be made to a high degree of precision, it is most desirable to limit the stresses applied to the moving elements ,so that inaccuracies due to wear or lost motion between the parts may be entirely eliminated. This is particularly desirable when the work supporting member is heavy and is required to bemoved in opposite directions to precise predetermined positions to a great many'times.

The present invention provides a construction accomplishing the above functions by means of a small motor, electric cir cuits for which are controlled by switches opened and closed by operation of the machine elements. By means of varying the current through the armature and field of the motor and by controlling certain resistance elements within these circuits, its

torque and direction of rotation inay'be' widely varied. In the present embodiment of the nvention selected for illustration, a

motor is shown applied to a gear tooth encrating machine so that it is adapte to aid in moving the work supporting member in either direction during indexing movements. Also, it is used to lock or retainthe work support in each of its fixed indexed positions in a manner preventing any lost'motion during the cutting operations It istherefore an ob ect to provide switch controlled members actuated by .i thej machine elements to first rotate the motor with a light torque, then increase the amount "of torque. This operation of 'the motor is maintained alternately withmomentary reversals of the motor; f

Another object of the ihventionj'is to provide switch controlled circuits to rotate the motor in the reverse direction to'return the work support or'other movable element'to its originalposition. I A

This application forms a division of an application filed" by L. Blood, October7, 1921, Serial No. 506,001 and wilbbe described in connection with the machine described in that-application.

VVith'these and other objects in viewmy invention consists in the featuresfof construction and operation set forth in the fol lowing specification and illustrated inthe accompanying firawing. j

In the accompanying drawing annexed hereto'and forming a part of this specification, 1 have shown my invention embodied in a gear generating machine but it will be understood that the invention can be otherwise embodied and that the drawing is. not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims appended to this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

In the drawing: Figure'l is a fragmentary plan view, partly insection, of mechanism to which the invention may be applied.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view or the electrical circuits and switches bymeansof which the mechanism may be controlled.

In the above mentioned drawing, I have shown but one embodiment of the invention which is now deemed referable, but it is to be understood that c anges and modificar tions may be made within itlie scop"ofthe appended'claims without de arting from the spirit of the invention.

The. machine to which the invention is ap-V plied in the" drawing com-prises the following principal parts: first, a machine tool having a work support adapted to be'moved in opposite directions; second, a cutting tool adjacent said work s'u'p'port; third, means to move said support; fourth, auxiliary means to move said support, said auxiliary means-serving also t6 lock the support mind'xed position during the cutting operation; and fifth, a motor control system, the circuits for which are controlled by movement of the machine elements; to operate s'aid' auxili'ary moving means in accordance with the cycle of operations" 'of the machine. Referring more detail to the'figui'es OI the drawing, a specific form of a metal working" machine is shown, the particular one shown being a gear generating machine simil a r'. to that shown United states Pat- ,2 g' l i n ry '91} 19 19, For complete de cri tion otters machine, reference may be had to this patshaft 21 and screw i ent. present, specification be, for

the mostpai't', limited to description of the. auxiliary moving means for the. work fication to indicate. corresponding parts found iiitheabove mentionedpatent.

'A"'tab1e 191s rotataply mounted'ibn saddle 1, which, in may be 'reci'prok cated'aloiig ways 3 on? the base 1- of the machine. In order tei'move 'the saddle 4 andt'able 19 a; shaft 21' is" provided on which isifs' lidably mounted afiorm '20 in 'mesli with a worm ,w'heel 1 9iformed as a part of the table 19; "Also, serew-l1 is;pro-

vided working in a cut formed inthe sadmade to simulate the rolling movement a gear upon its pitch c lin derQ During operation, 0 th achin'; the

termiiid numbers of tur effect of which is to so'fposition thetabl ISJthat-a gear mounted thereon may be in effect rolled through a distance equal to the circular" pitch or v a multiple thereof upon its particular pitch cylinder; This rolling. action. takes place in a number of short rolling movements in a step-by-step manner: By varying'the number of turns" throughwhicl'r the shaft-21 .and screw 11 are rotated, the rolling action for 'gears having different numbers of teeth and difierent pitch cylinders may be simulated.- Adjacent the table, isan upright: member shown i'ragmentarily at 300 which may be moved toward or from the table 19 and which has mounted thereon a vertically ope'rated ram 97. This ram has mounted thereon a cutter in the form of a rack as shown at 10-1. During operation, this ram 9? with its cutter 104 is reciprocated in a vertical plane and the table 19 and saddle -1' are moved to re-position or index the gear to be cut when the cutter 104 is above and out' of engagement with the gear. As soon as the indexing movement is complete the cutter 104: makes another cutting stroke. After a plurality of indexing movements of the gear, the saddle -1 is or may be ret'tiPXitXttQ initi'ai position.

It will be understood that the present invention does not relate particularly to the movements or actuating means of the ram 97 'or the cutter 104""Qr1in the construction of the table 19 'orfsa'ddle4. For a complete understanding'of the construction and operation of these parts, reference should be hadto' the above mentioned Maag patent. w t ,c

During operation o i the machine the position of the table 19- and the saddle d'must be accuratelydetermined so that the gear mo'unted' on the tabled!) will be disposed in a precise location relative to -the. cutter r043; 'Al'sojafter a p11 1'i-a 1ity or cutting strokes of the cutter lQd' fand corresponding generating movements off the'table 19, the saddle f1 must be returnedto its original position and movement vof the table 19 and saddleid"again'started in correct generatingmo'vements: to continue the cutting of"ad'dit-ional teeth of the fg ar. During each of these generating or indexing-movements' T'dependence 7 may be had upon the screw 11 and the shaft 22 but these parts cannot operate without some lost motion which unless compensated for or taken up in the same manner for each stroke -would be detrimental to the pr'ecision of the' work operated on by themachine. Furthermore,

if these parts were forced to withstand the.

entire strain offino'ving the table 19 and saddle 4, they would rapidly wear which would also have'the effect of destroying the precision. In order to overcome any inacmie i 's i vby pes 1 s jm b bfl t'ween the moving parts, a device has'jbeen provided which inefiec'ttakes the place of the frictionally driven screw 12 shown" in the pat'enfiz' bowe referred to and, in addition. tothis, itserves to 'loclirthe iwork support in "predetermined position after'havin}; been moved to indexed position"by' means of the screw ll'and shaft 21.

This device comprises a small motorv 30 mounted on an extension of the base and connected by a pinion 31 with a driving gear 32 at one end of a screw 33. The screw 33 is mounted in suitable bearings 34 so that it is supported in a position parallel with the ways 3 and in intermeshing contact with the worm wheel 19; It willbe apparent therefore that rotation of the motor 30 in one direction will force out only the table 19 to rotate as far as permitted" by the worm 20 but will also force the saddle 4 in the same direction as far as permitted by the screw ll. Also, by operat Eng the motor to give a light'turning effect during the operative movements of these parts, it will relieve the screw ll'and worm 20 of most of their strain and wear.

During the iudexingmovements of the table 19 and saddle l, it is desirable to rotate the motor 30 \vith sufhcient force to urge the table and saddle in a predetermined direction with a slight force,'in-the mean--' time, thescrew 11 and shaft 22 -=wi1l::a1'so rotate thus permitting the screw- 33 to" ax-"f ially move the saddle and-rotate the table: As soon as the table and saddle havereached their indexed position which'-posi-:'

tion is, of course, predetermined bythe"- particular gear being .cutand regulated-by the rotation of the screw ll'andsh a'ft 21, it is desirable to lock 'the table ih-thatposition. For this purpose a. stronger rotative' force should be applied to the's'erew 33 -by motor 30. Also, since the-table andsaddle' are to be returned to their init ial' position after a number of indexing movement's, it is r desirable that rotation of the motor 30should be reversed at that time-so that the screw 33. will aid in moving the-table*l9 falnd'saddle 4 in a reverse direction. *Simultaneously'y thescrew 11 and shaft21' will-be rotated-in theopposite direction and will therefore' de= I may be entirely similar to .the reversing mechanisms shown and described-.in the above mentioned patent.

In order to accomplish the above results, the motor 30 is; operated by circuits as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2. A drum 50 is associated with the ram 97 preferably with the spindle operating the ram 97 as indicated in Fig. 1 so that this drum 50 makes one complete revolution with one complete movement of the ram 97 and cutter 104? Also, on another part of the machine (not shown in Fig. 1) the lever 51 is oscillated to open and close a reversing switch 52 as soon as the table 19 and saddle 4. have reached their limit of movement and are about to start on their reverse movement. This switch 52 may be manually operated at the end of the table movement in its indexing direction or may be automatically operatedbythe reversing mechanism of the machine as defined in the above mentioned patent.

The circuits for operating the motor 30 to; accomplish the-functions indicated above will now be described.- The field circuit 60 of the motor 30, which is preferably of the series type, is adapted to be excited in 7 either direction to reverse its polarity. 1 This isaccomplished by means of .the reversing switch 61 which .is inserteddirectly in one: of the main circuit wires 62 and 63. During the indexing movement of the machine, asB above indicated, the motor 30 is rotated in. one direction with'a rather small? torque; The direction may. be reversed by manually throwing theswitch-61 and thus reversing the polarity ofv the field-.circu'it60: During. (lifi'erent periods of the.- cycle .oi. operation ditferent armature .icirc'uitsare; employe which ..-preferably include-5 Zresistance- ...elements; when the machine is indexing, the section 64- of resistaneeaiis u'sed gthe'amount; being variable by.- adjustment oii: ,tl'lB-r contact; point 65.. Also during-{this indexingcperav. tion ofthe machine-,ethelentireiamount of; resistance-.6. on theizopppsitez-sides oimthe. armature iseused :to-redueethe 'armaturecur-I rent and thus limit-the ,torque .ofthe-motor 30. This. periodtof-ithe .cyele .-.is.,-sho.wIi :in. Fig; 2: -As: 'soon las tthe .ram Q'Z iS' BbQH-t :to, move on its downward or cuttingz:s'troke,- the drum 5.0, is rotated. that .the-;projeeting camrfiti-is moved to oceupy-a-po'sitiontoj close; the switch- 67 -\ThiS com 1etely short-;: circuits .the; resistance 6 andi. n eincre s se the armature currentand; consequently. the?) qu pp ied:.tb.=t e.-motori3Q;- Bys' easonsiqa of this-resistance bj 'gbeixiQshortciIcuitedafihe; screw,- 33i-1is. strongly surg d; forward-manil acting against the screw,- iland work-20; w hih v stopp d irp e q a epnee itha n exm vem a s-. =s mp s cnr vL- .ek$r L9, h i a el ls x a dle-e i pr dete inedindexed position. As soon as the cutting; stroke of the ramnhas'been,completed; other .indexin movement of the-table..;an d saddle takes place. It is dsii-ab1e,-h9l 9ver, before startshto loosen th @r'ew;33,io' facilitate the .abtiqii of the. scre'vi 1'1 .efid. shaft 21 to again'index the gear. accomplished by the cam 68 on the drum 50 which, when the switches 69 and 70 are closed, momentarily reverses the armature current through the motor 30. This cam strip 68 closes the switches 69 and 70 as soon as the cutting stroke is complete. This has the effect. of momentarily reversing the direction of the armature current and consequently reversing the rotation of the motor 30'. During this period of the cycle the armature circuit includes the lead 62, a part of resistance a to lead 71, the lead 72,

portion of resistance 5 to the armature.- From this point, it leaves the armature through resistance 74 and lead 75, through switch 69 to the negative lead 76. This 5' reverse action of the motor takes place for an instant only and while the cam strip holds switches 69 and 70 closed, after which the switches again open and the motor again starts in a direction to assist the index movements of the shaft 21* and screw 11-.

As soon as the alternate indexing and cutting operations have extended as far as de sired it is necessary to reverse the movement of the saddle 4 to return it to its initial posi- 15" tion so that additional rolling of the gear being cut may take place infront of the cutter 104. At this time, the. double switch 52 is closed by operation of the reversing lever 51. This, of course, may be operated by hand, or, as indicated in the patent above referred to, by automatic reversing means provided on the main control drum of the machine. At the same time, the movement of'the ram 97 is discontinued by appropriate 28 means described in the above mentioned patent, preferably these may be the drum cam 150 and the member 85 shown in Fig.

10. With the double switch 52 closed, the armature current passes in the samedirec- 6 tion through the armatureas when the cam (38 operates to close the switches 69 and 70,

and therefore the motor-3O rotates in a direction reverse to that during the indexing operation.

During the reverse movement of the saddle 4', the worm 2Qslides alongthe" shaft 21- to which it is splined without rotating so that no rolling of the gear takes place. The function of the rotation ofscrew- 33 419 at this time is merely to assist in themoveme'nt of saddle 4 and relieve the screw 11 of the major portion of the stresses involved. The armature circuit during reverse movement of the saddle 4 include leads 71 and 79, switch 80, leads 81 and 72, and

a small part 82 of resistance 6 to the armature. From the armature-the circuit includes part 74 of resistance a, the leads 75 I and 87, switch 84, and lead 85 to the negative lead 76.

It is frequently desirable to rotate the table 19 and move the saddle 4 in the opposite direction-than that assumed in the circuit shoivniri Fig. 2 during indexing so that the gear will be indexed and thus generated while rolling in the opposite direction. In order to facilitate this without effecting the other circuits of the machine, the throw'over switch 6]; may be operated to reverse the polarity of the field so that the motor 30 will be operated in the reverse direction as compared to when running as in the above mentioned indexing direction.

As indicated in Fig. 2, leads 65 and 75 are adapted to be attached to different parts of the resistance a, and the lead 72 to resistance" b. By suitably adjusting the positions of the leads 65, 75 and 72 on these resistances the turning efi'ect of the motor 30 may be very widely varied atv all periods ofthe cycle'of operations;

What I claim is: 5

.1. A motor control system comprising in combination, a motor, a series field therefor, means to reverse the direction of current through said field, an armature circuit including resistance, switch controlled means toshort-circuit portion of said re-' sistance, switch controlledmeans to reverse said armature circuit means to manually vary the resistance in said, reverse Cll'C Ult, v

and constantly operated. means to control said armature circuit andsaid motorin accordance with a predetermined cycle.

.2. A motor control system comprising in combination, a motor, a series field therefor, manual means to reverse the direction 01;- eurrentthrough said field, an armature circuitincluding resistance elements on opposite sides of 1 the. armature .01 ,Said motor,

switch controlled means, to short-circuit the resistance element on ,oneside of, the arm'a ture, switch controlled-means to momentarily rvers'e said armature circuit during the cycle of operations, means to manually vary the resistance in said reverse circuit, and'con'stantl'y operated means to control said Earmature circuit and motor in accordance' with a predetermined cycle.

In testimony whereof, I'hereto affix my signature. I i

HAROLD L. BLOOD. 

